1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for processing information and to a storage medium on which information is stored. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for processing information and to a storage medium on which information is stored by means of architecture in which the information processing apparatus and the storage medium are entirely separated from each other in terms of software and data so that various applications can be executed by exchanging the storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are various types of information processing apparatuses such as a Japanese word processor or a personal organizer, which are small in size and portable. Many of these information processing apparatuses are constructed in the form of a Read Only Memory (ROM) machine having no hard disk. In these ROM machines, software cannot be easily exchanged. In most cases, only particular software can run on a particular ROM machine. Therefore, most ROM machines serve as special purpose machines. The advantage of the special purpose machine is that it is constructed in a simple fashion and users having no special knowledge about the computer can easily use it. However, the disadvantage is that it is difficult to execute various different applications.
Personal computers for general purposes are also used. The personal computers, including those in the early days, have a high-capacity data storage device such as a hard disk. To effectively use the high-capacity data storage device, file systems such as a disk operating system have been developed. The core of the file system, that is a general-purpose operating system, has been well developed. Devices generically called computers such as personal computers, work stations, notebook personal computers, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), etc., employ a basic architecture in which a data storage device such as a hard disk is assumed to be disposed in the main part of the computer and a general-purpose operating system is installed thereon. In general, a plurality of application software programs are installed so that the personal computer or the computer serves as a general-purpose machine.
Referring to FIG. 12, the hierarchical structure of a system including software and hardware used in an information processing apparatus is described below. FIG. 12 illustrates a typical manner in which the system of a general-purpose personal computer is constructed in a hierarchical structure. As shown in FIG. 12, the system is constructed of, in a hierarchical structure from top to bottom, an application program (APP), an application program interface (API), an operating system (OS), a device driver (DD) and hardware (H/W).
The historical development of the technique of hierarchical construction of the system and software is described below.
In the early days of personal computers, device drivers were written in the form of a basic input/output interface or Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) on a ROM disposed in hardware, and any software was assumed to control the hardware via the BIOS. It was not easy to replace the BIOS, and thus, the BIOS limited the functions and performance of machines. That is, to run an operating system or an application program on a machine, it was required that the operating system and the application program were constructed in a manner acceptable to the BIOS. In this respect, the software was entirely dependent on the hardware.
As data storage devices such as a hard disk have become popular, a device driver has been placed on a hard disk. As a result, it has become possible to rewrite or exchange the operating system and the device driver at any desired time. Thus, a plurality of different operating systems can run on the same single hardware. In other words, when the same operating system is used, lower-level hardware can be constructed in various different fashions. Thus, the hardware-free concept has become popular. However, applications are still dependent on the operating system.
In recent years, as with so-called JAVA(copyright), a technique has been developed for using a common application interface which is defined at a level higher than the operating system. Thus, the trend has been toward independence of applications from operating systems. That is, the technology has been advanced from the hardware-free concept to the operating system-free concept. The operating system-free concept assures that applications can run regardless of the type of low-level operating system being used, as long as the requirements regarding the application interface are met. Thus, it has become possible to run application programs on various different platforms.
In a word, the progress of personal computers is based on the progress of independence of software and applications. At present, however, although a high degree of independence of applications has been achieved, progress is concerned with only the computer technology or production technology, and there are aspects which should be improved from a user""s viewpoint or from an ergonomic viewpoint. More specifically, from the viewpoint of user friendliness or ease of use, computers according to current technology are very complicated and difficult to understand.
A first problem for many users is that an application program has to be installed on hardware before using it for the first time. In some cases, various system parameters have to be set up so as to achieve conformity with the operating system and other existing applications. More specifically, application software is generally distributed via a medium such as a Compact Disk-Read Only Memory (CD-ROM). It is also becoming popular to download desired software via the Internet or the like. After obtaining software, a user has to install the software onto a hard disk of his or her own machine. Various system parameters are then set up depending on the environment and status of his or her machine so that the software can run on his or her machine. In many cases, various application programs supplied from different vendors and common files are stored on the hard disk. To run various application programs under such conditions, the user himself or herself has to properly set up the system parameters such that all the programs and files are in conformity with one another. Otherwise, these application programs cannot be executed. If the setting is not proper, the application programs cannot work at all, or even when it does work, an operation is imperfect or an operating speed is low. In some cases, an application can adversely affect the operation of other application programs. Furthermore, important files are often destroyed or unpredictable problems occur during an installation of a new application program. Although users can make a request for advice from a support center or the like of a vendor when trouble occurs, a user has to explain what happens, what the problem is, how bad the problem is, whether the problem is concerned with hardware or software, and so on. This means that users have to have sufficient knowledge of the computer. This is one of big difficulties users, such as children or older people, encounter when they try to use a computer.
Second, a user has to perform reinstallation each time an updated version of a device driver, an operating system, or application software is provided by a vendor. Furthermore, when a peripheral device is added, a user has to establish a configuration of a device driver thereof and restart the computer. Also in this case, in order to properly rewrite the system or install add-on software, the user has to know what software is stored on a disk and what he/she should be careful about. In many cases, a user has to know technical items defined in an implicit fashion, and has to have the know-how on how to use those items. In this respect, a user has to manage his or her own machine. Furthermore, trouble can occur even under the conditions in which a machine is managed by a user having technical knowledge. The fact that trouble can occur even under such conditions, makes it more difficult for users who do not have sufficient technical knowledge to use computers.
Third, after installing an application, a user can rather easily use a graphical user interface (GUI) or a menu in a simple form provided by a vendor. However, when an error associated with an operation of an operating system or a machine itself occurs during the operation, there is a possibility that an operating environment is destroyed. To recover the problem of the machine, high-level knowledge is required, and thus, users who do not have technical knowledge cannot handle the problem. In some cases, an error causes data produced by a user to be lost. These facts make it difficult for many users to use personal computers.
As discussed above, users encounter great difficulties when an application is installed or when an error occurs. From the viewpoint of computer architecture, such problems arise from the current personal computer architecture in which a large number of software programs are all installed on a data storage device such as a hard disk, and they are controlled by a very complicated operating system using a huge set of common libraries.
Computer and digital technology is becoming increasingly important for all of us. In contrast to computer users in companies, a great number of potential users of computers in homes are not engineers. Therefore, it is required that computers for use at home should be simple, able to be used for general purposes, and constructed on the basis of architecture, which can be used without technical knowledge. Although special-purpose computers such as a ROM machine described earlier are simple, one set of hardware is required for each application. Thus, a house would be occupied by a large number of computers dedicated to the various respective applications. This would be very inconvenient for the user. On the other hand, the approach of simply extending the current personal computer architecture cannot solve the problems, as discussed above.
Another serious problem occurs when user data is handled. In recent years, in addition to application programs, content data is becoming increasingly important. Digital contents are generally stored on ROM media such as a CD-ROM or a Digital Versatile Discxe2x80x94Read Only Memory (DVD-ROM) so that a user can carry the medium with them. However, user data associated with the content produced during a process in which an application is executed, such as user data produced by a user, system data, and machine environment data, cannot be recorded on the ROM medium. Thus, these types of data are stored on a hard disk or divided into a plurality of parts and stored on removable Random-Access Memory (RAM) media such as floppy disks or Integrated Circuit (IC) cards. When content data is stored on a hard disk, a user has to use the machine on which the digital data is stored if the user wants to maintain the continuity in a job. This results in limitation in terms of the place where a job is performed, and it becomes difficult to continue the same job at different places such as home, school, company, etc. This means that applications are not completely independent of hardware, but are still dependent on machines. Therefore, when a user wants to continue a job at a different place or location, the user must carry the actual machine with them to that location. In the case where content data is divided into a plurality of parts and stored on removable RAM media, it becomes necessary to manage both a CD-ROM on which the original content is stored and the RAM media on which the user data is stored. This is inconvenient and troublesome. Furthermore, to manage the plurality of media used for the same application, the user has to have sufficient technical knowledge.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a storage medium is used which stores all software and content required in processing performed by an information processing apparatus, and the operation of the information processing apparatus is controlled such that: recording and reproducing an information signal upon or from the storage medium; when the storage medium is inserted into the information processing apparatus, all necessary software and content required in processing by the information processing apparatus is loaded into storage means of the information processing apparatus from the storage medium, and the software is executed; and the storage medium is ejected after completion of the execution of the software.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a storage medium is used which stores all software and content required in processing performed by an information processing apparatus, and the operation of the information processing apparatus is controlled such that: an information signal is recorded or reproduced upon or from the storage medium; when the storage medium is inserted into the information processing apparatus, all necessary software and content required in processing by the information processing apparatus is loaded into storage means of the information processing apparatus from the storage medium, and the software is executed; and the storage medium is ejected after completion of the execution of the software.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a storage medium is used which stores all software and content required in processing performed by an information processing apparatus, wherein the information stored on the storage medium includes at least one of a device driver, an operating system, and an application, all of which are operated according to a controlling process wherein the process includes the steps of: recording or reproducing an information signal upon or from the storage medium; storing information; when the storage medium is inserted into the information processing apparatus, loading software from the storage medium and executing it; and ejecting the storage medium after completion of the execution of the software.
In the present invention, as described above, all necessary software and content required in processing by the information processing apparatus are loaded into the storage means of the information processing apparatus from the storage medium on which all software and content are stored, and a desired function of the software is executed. When the execution of the software has ended, the function provided by the software is deleted and the storage medium is ejected.